Jaipur: The state sports department, alongside the Rajasthan State Sports Council, is set to roll out a multi-phase grassroots sports programme Khelo Rajasthan. The stage for the first phase of competition opens on December 1. Billed under slogans such as Har Gaon, Har Khel, Har Khiladi, the programme aims to draw broad participation across rural and urban centres, structured to funnel local athletes into organised competitive streams.From the state’s perspective, officials are positioning the initiative as an avenue to expand participation outside major urban centres. The tournament is structured into a tiered pyramid model, scaling up from local panchayats to state-level finals. Initial rounds are slated across 11,341 gram panchayats, expanding into 379 blocks and 628 urban local bodies. Officials estimate that over 1,00,000 athletes will compete at the district tier, with around 9,100 performers eventually advancing to the state-level phase.The sports lineup is split across three separate phases to handle facility requirements across different disciplines. Phase one includes volleyball, athletics, tug of war, and archery. The second phase covers kabaddi, football, judo and shooting. The final phase features kho-kho, wrestling, basketball, and satoliya.Organisers have budgeted 150 total medals across all featured disciplines. Individual events account for 108 medals split evenly between gold, silver and bronze. Team events will award the remaining 42 medals, with 14 designated for each podium finish.Logistics & player provisioning: According to scheme documents, participating contingents will receive basic lodging, meals, and transit arrangements during competitive stages. Technical execution relies on state sports associations, while designated managers, coaches, assistant coaches, and wardens are tasked with overseeing squad operations.The standard progression path requires players to register via the official portal or at district sports offices before competing in local fixtures. Selected athletes from the local rounds are then slotted for specialised instruction at regional sports centres under assigned technical coaches, aimed at identifying talent for higher-level national and state competitions.Coordinated through the youth affairs and sports department, panchayati raj, secondary education, directorate of local bodies and IT department, registration remains open online through khelorajasthan.rajasthan.gov.in and offline at local district sports offices.Hockey omission triggers demands for inclusion: Following the news on the state games, Hockey Rajasthan expressed concern over the exclusion of hockey from the event lineup. Hockey Rajasthan president Mahipal Singh Nimbara dispatched formal communications and emails to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and senior sports officials, urging the state administration to include the national sport in the campaign.“Hockey represents an integral part of India’s sporting heritage, historically celebrated every year on National Sports Day to honor Major Dhyan Chand. Leaving out such a foundational discipline undermines the spirit of the state’s Har Gaon, Har Khel, Har Khiladi mission. Hockey should be incorporated to ensure rural and urban talent across Rajasthan are not deprived of this platform to showcase their skills,” Nimbara added.
